Promotion Anyone?
by TributePotterhead
Summary: What will happen when Katniss, a 23 year old who had been working in Seattle, gets a promotion in Santa Cruz? What will that mean for her relationship with Gale, and what will that mean for Prim? Follow this story to find out!
1. Chapter 1: Santa Cruz, California

**I hope you enjoy this story. Please drop me a line in the comments about anything I can do to improve this story. This is an AU story so characters will be a little OOC.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Hunger Games. All rights go to Suzanne Collins**

I smoothed my skirt for the last time and looked over my features in the mirror. My tired eyes sparkled with enthusiasm although I was more nervous than anything. After painting on a thick coat of lipstick I popped my lips out, now blaring red, and pulled at my wild hair. Any attempt to tame the beast that was my tangled mane was to no avail. Nothing was going to change the wiry, spiteful strands.

"Katniss?" My little sister called from down the hallway, in the kitchen. "You ready?"

Peeking around the doorframe at Prim's blonde form, "Almost, two more minutes."

After one more quick lookover in the mirror, I crossed over to my tiny bedroom, tugged on my navy business blazer, and slipped on my sharp, yellow pumps. I crossed the hall to living room again and snatched my keys from the bowl next to the fridge. "Ready Primrose?"  
Playfully she scowled at me, the expression unnatural on her innocent face, nodded, crossed to the door, and began to descend the stairs to ground level, heels clicking on the metallic rails as she goes. I followed after her. The rain pulled down my neck, and I held my leather briefcase above my head to protect my silk blouse. Once we both reached the car, we hurriedly piled inside, and I kicked my heels off so I could drive. I dropped Prim off at the library so she could study for her chemistry test that afternoon. She could catch the bus to the University later that day. The drive to the law firm I worked at was completely uneventful. I parked close to the doors and hurried in; I was late.

Effie stopped me at the reception desk. "Ms. Everdeen,"

"I know, I know, I'm late." I grumbled.

The flourescent woman shook her head. "Mr. Heavensbee would like to speak to you in his office."

My stomach flopped a little. If Plutarch wanted to talk to me, it was either good or bad. The only two reasons he _ever_ spoke to someone personally were to fire you or give you a promotion.

Shaking in my designer pumps, I stopped myself from making a sound before I steeled myself. After a deep, reassuring breath, I knocked on the wood of the door. Mr. Heavensbee replied with a sharp, 'Come.', and I timidly stepped into his large office. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes," he said slowly. "You might want to take a seat Ms. Everdeen."

Unsure of anything in that moment, I lowered myself into the plush leather seat across the table from Mr. Boss-Man. "Alright,"

"I got an e-mail yesterday from corporate," he began. "What they said was there is an opening in Santa Cruz, California. They told me that someone from this branch is going to fill the position, and the only person I could see transferring to California is you. What do you think?"

A thousand thoughts raced through my head. What would that mean for Prim? What would that mean for Gale and me?

When I had first moved to Seatle, I met someone right outside of a coffee shop I would soon frequent. We instantly hit it off and became a thing; we're fast approaching our year long anniversary. If I took the job in Santa Cruz that meant we would have two options: One, we could begin a long distance relationship and two, we could break up.

Suddenly my tongue was dry. Change had never been something I handled well. The moment a drastic change had ever presented itself itself, I would shut down. "Um," I said after a awkwardly long pause. "I'll have to think about it, but I will get back to you."

"I need to know by Friday so keep that in mind."

"Thank you, Mr. Heavensbee," I muttered as I backed up to exit the plush office.

Sighing, I leaned against the wall outside and rested my head in my hands. Millions of thoughts ran through my head in that moment. California, Corporate, Prim, Oregon, Gale. Gale! what will Gale think of this?


	2. Chapter 2: Reactions

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update on Sunday. I got sick over the weekend and couldn't get to the computer. Anyway, please tell me what you think when you get to the end. Enjoy!**

"California?!" Gale screamed into the phone.

A thick sigh collapsed my ribcage, and I tried my best to respond in a calm tone. "Look, Gale, I never said I was going to take the job. I said we could talk about it."

"If we are talking about it, that means you're considering it."

"Gale," I said. "I need to think this over without any outside pressures so I'll talk to you when I figure it out."

The line went dead without another word spoken, and I sighed again as I ran a hand through my dark hair. As the line of traffic began to move, slowly but surely, my grip tightened on the steering wheel. If I did end up moving to Santa Cruz, I would get a tan and that'd be good to my chances with the opposite sex. On the other hand, however, I would be leaving all the friends I had at this point. Mostly that meant Primrose and Gale but still, they were my friends. But all the new people I would meet would more than make up for that.

Decision made, I pulled into the parking lot behind the run down apartment building I lived in and put the car in park. I unclicked my seatbelt and stepped out of the car into the rain. It was dark out so the moonlight glinted off each, individual raindrop. The staircase was dripping with cold rain, I soon found as I fell on my hands.

Cursing a little, I stood upright and unlocked the door. Slamming the door closed behind me, I slid to the floor and started crying. Leaving my sister and my boyfriend was going to be the hardest decision I had ever made. But I would make it anyway, heavy heart or not.  
My few moments of sadness passed, and I was left to feel the vibrations of Prim's hard knocks. "Katniss, let me in! I have a huge paper to write."

Without even a word to my sister I moved out of the way, and Prim fell into the small apartment. "Are you okay, Katniss? You never cry. What's going on?"

"I-I'm moving to Santa Cruz, California." I muttered cryptically.

Prim's eyebrows crinkled into a cute, confused scowl. "What? Why? I can't pay for this apartment by myself!"

"Look, Prim," I said. "This is a great opportunity. I have to take it."

"What about Gale?"

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair for about the third time today. "I've already thought about that, he's not very good to me."

"What do you mean? He's great to you."

I shook my head. "No, I've never told you this, but when he's drunk he hits me. Hard."

Prim thought a minute. "Yeah, you should go. Nothing's holding you here."

"I would miss you, Little Duck." I smiled and poked her nose.

She shrugged. "You could visit. Or I could visit you! Then we could go to the beach."

I shrugged. "Maybe,"


	3. Chapter 3: The Spaghetti Bowl

**Please R&amp;R**

ZZZZZ-! The zipper pull on my suitcase stuck in the middle like it always has. I pulled it back and forward again until I hit that sweet spot that makes it pull forward again. "That means I'm done." I muttered as I stood and pulled all my bags into the hallway.

"That's all you're taking?" My little sister's voice piped up from the end of the hallway.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'll come back for the rest in a bit."

Prim smiled. "That means you'll have to visit for a little."

"Yep,"

I lugged my four bags, one large suitcase, a good sized duffle, a carry-on, and another, smaller suitcase, down the hall and out the door. The walk down the stairs was cumbersome and awkward. I got down the metal fire escape nontheless. Piling everything into my car, I closed the hatch and ran up the stairs again. "Give me a hug, Little Duck."

Prim's skinny arms wrapped around my waist in a bone crushing hug. "I'm gonna miss you, Catnip."

"As will I. I'll video chat you when I get time, okay? Until then text me." I kissed her head and walked out the door.

The rain was at it again, pouring down in buckets as I climbed in my car and was on my way to sunny California. Windshield wipers going crazy, I fight my way through traffic in the spaghetti bowl that is the interstate freeway. The weather outside matched my emotions, and I began to cry. Leaving the only adult life I had ever known was the hardest thing I'd ever done. It was tearing me apart.

My fingers gripped the steering wheel tighter and tighter until my knuckles turned white. The anxiety biting at my heart made me unsure of my decision. _What if I'm not good enough for the Santa Cruz firm? What if the others hate me because I'm the 'new kid'?_

Mentally slapping myself, I put a new though into my head: _What if I impeccibly well and make hundreds of new friends?_

This new thought gives me a little bit of confidence, just enough to make it to California.


	4. Chapter 4: A Big Adjustment

The sunshine was a bit of an adjustment for me, considering I moved to Seattle when I was seventeen and had been living there since. Now, at twenty-three, leaving Seattle was like giving up a part of myself. But at the same time, it felt like leaving a dark part of my past, the part I had used to cope with my parents' divorce. My parents divorced when I was fifteen. Mostly, it was my mother's fault. She left my father for some rich man in the city. Apparently he was a baker. After a month of my father telling me and Prim that she was 'on a business trip', Mother sent a bunch of paperwork I didn't understand at the time. Daddy filled it out and sent it back to her. And like that, she was gone forever. Mother wanted custody of me and my sister. The only reason she got it was because Dad worked from six in the morning until eight in the evening. I resented my mother. Every moment I spent with her was like going through Chinese Water Torture, unbearable and irritating. So the day I turn seventeen I moved to Seattle to live with my dad. Then he changed jobs and moved to Washington, D.C. I don't remember where my Mother ended up, but I know it wasn't in D.C. with my dad. The sound of blaring horns pulled me out of my memory. It was getting dark so I pulled into a nice hotel to stay the night. As I parked the car, I looked around at the hotel. It looked expensive, but I didn't care-this wasn't my bill anyway. Corporate told me before I left that they would pay for any and all expenses during my trip to Santa Cruz. For some reason, the busle in the lobby surprised me. I pushed my through the crowd to the front desk. A woman in a sharp pantsuit sat behind an old computer there. She put her finger up as a sign for me to wait, because she was on the telephone. I stood there patiently and pulled a hair off my blazer. "How may I help you?" The woman said as she hung up the telephone. "I need a room," I said stupidly. She nodded. "Is it just you tonight?" "Yes," I said, "it is." The woman typed on her keyboard a little and clicked her mouse a few times. "Alright," she said. "Your room is on the second floor. It's room 211." "Thank you," I said as I grabbed the key card and sauntered over to the elevator. 


	5. Chapter 5: A Beautiful Stranger

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been forever since my last update...I don't really have a reason, but I can give you a million excuses if you want.**

**Anyway, R&amp;R please!**

As I step off the elevator and onto the second floor, I meet a wall of flesh. I fall to the floor, and my bags scatter across the hallway.

"I am so sorry!" A deep, male voice says as a hand reaches down to help me stand up. "I was totally caught up in my own world."

The spicy scent of this beautiful stranger's cologne, added to his stunning blue eyes, distracts all thoughts from my mind. "Uh, yeah, it's okay. Thanks," I mutter, captured in his deep blue eyes.

"Are you sure? I feel bad."

I shrug and nod as I adjust the strap of my bag on my shoulder. "Yeah, don't worry about it."

Still, this beautiful stranger is not satisfied with my answer. "At least let me take you for a bite to eat. I feel so bad."

"Okay, I could go for a free meal." I say, my voice bubbling with excitement.

A brilliant, white smile flashes at me. "Can I help you find your room and then we'll go find a place?"

I shrug, already maneuvering my way around him. "Well come on then. I don't have all night."

His heavy footsteps trail behind me as I scan the room numbers for my room. Finding it, I pull my bags around the door and slide the key in to unlock it. With my shoulder I keep the door open as I wheel my bags into the door. It's spacious and lush with a king sized bed with about a million pillow. "Dang."

"Score one for me," the deep voice mutters behind me.

I whip around and spear him with a deep scowl. "What?"

"I just met you, and I'm in your room. I'd say I scored big time."

Rolling my eyes, I turn to face him. "You wish."

He rolls his eyes right back at me. "Chow time?"

I look at him with one quirked eyebrow. "Do I get fifteen minutes to get cleaned up from my fifteen hour drive?"

The stranger with the blue eyes shrugs and flops onto the bed. "Sure, take all the time you need."

"Thanks," I mutter as I dig through one of my suitcases to find clean underwear. "Hey, what's your name?"

"I was wondering when you'd ask me that. I'm Peeta Mellark." He sighs as he flips through channels on the television.

I smile. "I'm Katniss."

"Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," I mutter. "I'm gonna hop in the shower."

The shower shutters on, and it's cold. I strip slowly to let it warm up a bit before I step in. The moment I step in, I rinse the dirt out of my hair and massage in the shampoo that has been provided. I scrub my body viciously while I let the conditioner soak into my long locks.

I step from the shower and wrap a towel around my torso and wrap my long tresses in a towel. Pulling on my undergarments, a black bra and panties, I make faces at myself in the mirror. _I forgot my dress in my suitcase._

"Peeta?" I call out to the stranger on my bed.

"Yeah?"

"I'm coming out, but I'm not entirely decent. All I ask is that you don't laugh at me."

I take Peeta's silence as understand and open the bathroom door. Insecurity overcomes me, and I wrap my arms around my chest so Peeta doesn't see. I linger in the bathroom doorway a moment as a cocky sense of confidence fills me. _I don't care what he thinks._

"Help me pick out a dress?" I ask him, even though I told myself I didn't care about his opinion.

He shrugs and goes through one of my suitcases. "I like this one." He says while holding up a soft orange number with a deep V-neck.

I nod and take the dress from his hands and pull it over my body, grateful he chose one without a zipper. "Let me braid my hair, and then we're good to go."

Sitting next to the blue eyed stranger, I towel dry my hair and pull it over my right shoulder. Peeta looks over to me and smiles. "You should leave your hair down. It's pretty."

I shrug. "Let's go then, I'm hungry."

**Sorry it's short. And I know that I switched tenses. I'll be changing the previous chapters to match, so don't judge. Okay?**


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